Oklahoma badly needed a victory at Tennessee to reclaim some of its national credibility.

The Big 12 might have been craving a statement such as the Sooners’ wild 31-24 double-overtime triumph even more.

OU coach Bob Stoops said his team’s dramatic comeback Saturday night might have been among the most special of his 170 career victories.

Many thought Stoops had lost his coaching fastball after a disappointing 8-5 season in 2014.

But those bad memories are waning after the Sooners stormed back to notch the kind of triumph that earlier helped Stoops earn the “Big Game Bob” nickname.

“It’s one of the more special wins, maybe my favorite of all of them,” Stoops said after the game. “A little ‘Sooner magic’ came back out. It reminded me of maybe like we’re back at A&M back in 2000, where we made some plays to win the game that you feel pretty fortunate and blessed to make.”

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TCU still atop this week’s Dirty Dozen

The top three spots remained unchanged in this week’s ranking of the 12 Texas FBS schools

1. TCU (2-0, next game Saturday vs. SMU) — Horned Frogs’ retooled defense limited Stephen F. Austin to 167 yards (with 75 coming on one play), produced seven three-and-outs on 15 drives and notched 11 tackles for losses. They’ll be taking up a step against SMU’s suddenly potent offense, but still shouldn’t be challenged until Big 12 play starts.

2. Baylor (2-0, next game Sept. 26 vs. Rice) — Explosive Baylor offense leads the nation averaging 754 yards per game and had three rushers and two receivers with 100-yard games against Lamar. Still, giving up 340 yards and 31 points to the Cardinals has to be a concern, doesn’t it?

3. Texas A&M (2-0, next game Saturday vs. Nevada) — The Aggies’ offense played with the panache befitting the new Kyle Field. The defense, maybe not so much. A&M produced only one sack although Ball State didn’t convert a third down until the second half. Another dominant performance against the Wolf Pack should get them ready for the perils of the SEC West.

4. Houston (2-0, next game Sept. 26 vs. Texas State) — Tom Herman picked up his first nationally significant victory with the Cougars by going into Louisville and claiming their first non-conference road win over a Power Five team in six seasons. But there’s still work to do after missing two field goals, converting three points off four Louisville turnovers and twice being turned away inside the Cardinals’ 9-yard line heading into the Cougars’ bye week.

5. Texas Tech (2-0, next game Saturday @ Arkansas) — After the Red Raiders have erupted for 17 touchdowns in the first two games, Patrick Mahomes has firmly established why Kliff Kingsbury thought he was the right quarterback to operate his offense. But next week’s trip to Arkansas will determine how much David Gibbs’ defense really has grown.

6. Texas (1-1, next game Saturday vs. California) — Any victory is sweet, although delving below the surface shows there still might be some concerns for the Longhorns. They were still outgained by Rice by 185 yards. But five turnovers including three inside the 20-yard line is a good sign. Producing 175 punt return yards after notching only 177 last season is an even better one.

7. SMU (1-1, next game Saturday @ TCU) — Chad Morris was so confident his team would beat North Texas that he team dance at the close of their Friday meeting to prepare for what they would do after beating the Mean Green. The Mustangs rallied for three fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game away as QB Matt Davis accounted for 296 total yards and four touchdowns. But the biggest story was a defense that limited the Mean Green to 240 yards and forced four turnovers.

8. Rice (1-1, next game Saturday @ North Texas) — Too many mistakes at critical times doomed the Owls at Texas. If it’s any consolation, they won’t face another team with as much as impetus to win as the Longhorns had in Saturday’s game for most of the season. David Bailiff should be proud of his team’s resiliency to fight back after an early 21-0 deficit, but Driphus Jackson has to protect the ball better.

9. Texas State (1-1, next game Saturday vs. Southern Miss) — Solid effort enabled the Bobcats to blot out memories of Florida State by taking undermanned Prairie View to the woodshed. After producing 440 yards in the first half, the Bobcats cruised to an easy victory. The defense is a concern after allowing 402 yards to Prairie View.

10. UTEP (0-2, next game Saturday @ New Mexico State) — It was a bad day in the High Plains as the Miners were blown out in Lubbock and lost top offensive threat Aaron Jones to an ankle injury late in the first half. His status is undetermined, but the Miners need him to have any chance at a bowl game. A rough start has seen the Miners outscored 117-33 in their first two games and it could get really grim if Jones is lost for a long time.

11. UTSA (0-2, next game Saturday @ Oklahoma State) — The Roadrunners dropped to 0-6 against Power Five foes as they were thrashed by Kansas State, beaten up in the trenches and unable to dictate any tempo. Oklahoma State will play more of UTSA’s chosen style but it will be hard to match scores with the Cowboys.

12. North Texas (0-1, next game Saturday vs. Rice) — The Mean Green’s waited a week for that start? UNT’s defense played well for three weeks before running out of gas in the fourth quarter against SMU. Offensive execution was spotty as UNT looks a lot like the team that scored 21 or fewer points in seven games last season.

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After struggling most of the game, OU quarterback Baker Mayfield and the offense got going over the final 8 minutes of regulation and overtime against Tennessee as they climbed out of an early 17-0 hole.

The win’s importance can’t be overstated for the rest of the conference. After failing to have a team in the first College Football Playoff last season, the Big 12 needed some impressive non-conference victories that would resonate once the CFP’s committee starts meeting next month.

Texas couldn’t provide it during an embarrassing loss at Notre Dame last week. But Stoops continued with his third straight triumph over the Southeastern Conference.

Could Baylor and TCU benefit? Considering that neither will face anything as challenging as OU’s nonconference schedule, they can at least revel from afar.

OU’s victory might signal Sooners are ready to return to the national title hunt this season despite diminished expectations before the season.

The Sooners held the Vols scoreless for their final 10 possessions in regulation and yielded 254 yards for the game.

Mayfield showed the moxie Stoops has been praising since naming him starting quarterback.

“It shows a lot about our team never giving up,” Mayfield said. “We were shooting ourselves in the foot in the first half with those two turnovers. But we stuck with it, never got negative and just trusted in each other.”

Mayfield failed to complete 50 percent of his passes and was intercepted twice. But he came up remarkably clutch down the stretch enabling the Sooners to record the largest comeback over Tennessee in Neyland Stadium.

After converting only 1 of their first 11 third-down plays, the Sooners converted eight third downs in the fourth quarter and overtime. Mayfield simply would not let them lose.

It was unlike last season, when the Sooners likely would have given up after falling behind. They endured a pair of 34-point defeats and many called Stoops and his coaching method into question after embarrassing late-season home losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State and the bowl game.

Stoops replaced Trevor Knight with Mayfield during fall camp. The new quarterback’s leadership has provided a changed mindset that was apparent as he led the Sooners on their rally.

“He missed some easy throws that he normally makes in his sleep,” new OU offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. “He’ll continue to get better. You can’t have players who are afraid of the stage and Baker certainly isn’t.”

Tim Griffin has been a journalist for more than 30 years working at a variety of newspapers and websites, including more than 25 years at the San Antonio Express-News. He has covered all four Spurs NBA championship series victories, along with 12 national championship football games and five Final Fours. Griffin has been honored nationally and regionally for his writing and enterprise and was a former national president of the Football Writers Association of America. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis and is married with one son.